Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland makes debut in NFL Top 100

Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland made one of the highest debuts in team history in the NFL Top 100 this week. After scoring a historic high of five pick-sixes last season with a league-high nine interceptions, it could’ve been assumed that the young corner would make the top 100 going into his third season. However, his ranking is now higher than most of his star teammates.

“I don’t want to say I deserve it, but I hope I’m on the list,” the soft-spoken cornerback said in the Top 100 video.

As the NFL continued its rollout of the Top 100 players in the league this week, Bland made his debut at No. 31 overall.

#Cowboys DaRon Bland was named No. 31 on the NFL's Top 100. His historic season earned him a first-time appearance on the list.

Bland was ranked higher than:

– Tariq Woolen, (No. 91)
– Patrick Surtain II (No. 52)
– Sauce Gardner (No. 38)

(🎥: @NFL) pic.twitter.com/zvevRZlfqM

— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) July 29, 2024

“He’s definitely a play-maker, a ball-hawk… you definitely don’t want to miss a throw around him because you know he has the ability to go up and make a play,” quarterback Sam Howell said. “You can tell he studies the game, he tries to predict what’s coming and a lot of the time, he’s right.”

Cowboys cornerback ranked No. 31 overall

The first-time first-team All-Pro posted 53 tackles last season after coming into the starting lineup to replace Trevon Diggs in Week 2.

After Diggs tore his ACL, Bland stepped up and didn’t miss a beat playing opposite veteran Stephon Gilmore. His performance gave the team the confidence to let Gilmore walk in free agency even as Diggs remains on PUP to start training camp.

The former Boise State standout has posted 14 interceptions through his first 23 games played and he led the league last season with nine. Bland now joins his teammate Zack Martin (No. 53) in the NFL Top 100 for the first time. The NFL will continue to reveal its list of rankings throughout the week. Edge rusher Micah Parsons was the team’s highest-ranked player last season, coming in at No. 9 overall. When Diggs made his debut in the NFL Top 100 in 2022 after posting a league-high 14 interceptions, he came in ranked at No. 23.

Bland says it will be ‘harder to keep a low profile’ in 2024

After transitioning from a backup contributor to an all-out star for the Dallas Cowboys last season, Bland is gaining stardom seldom seen so soon for a former fifth-round draft pick. Though most NFL fans outside of Cowboys nation couldn’t identify him before his five pick-six season, Bland is now among the most respected cornerbacks in the league.

“It’s definitely harder to keep a low profile after last season, but I’m enjoying it,” Bland said at the Reliant Energy Home Run Derby this summer, via DallasCowboys.com.

Considering how well his career is going so far, Bland is determined to maintain the same mindset he had when he entered the NFL.

“It’s all been the same,” Bland said of his preparation for Year 3. “Gotta keep it the same. I always have the same expectations. It [did] improve my confidence, going into more years in this league as well. I’m going into my third year so, yeah, I’m more confident now.”

On top of his elite production, much of Bland’s confidence comes from his position coach Al Harris. The Cowboys added assistant head coach to Harris’s title this offseason after several teams sought to interview him for open jobs.

“He’s been very key” Bland said of Harris. “Coming in, you’re not always gonna have a coach that’ll give you that boost of confidence to tell you to go and get the ball — to tell you to go and do you. Having him in the room and as an assistant head coach, where everybody on the team can experience him now, has been great.”